Online casinos are becoming more and more popular, gambling habits of casino game enthusiasts continue to shift from land based venues to virtual games. And for a good reason – online casinos offer a great game variety from slots to table games and lotteries, and you can play on multiple devices and experience online casino games even in a bus stop playing on a smartphone.
Another reason is the house advantage of online casino games – overall it’s lower than traditional casinos, especially regarding video slots. And, of course, the bonuses, that are available only in online casinos. But more on that read in following sections.
To catch a brief glimpse of the most important aspects of playing in online casinos, here are some do’s or don’ts.
Remember that there are plenty of strategies and ideas about gambling games, but whenever you want to take something more serious, you actually have to fully understand the terms, payout systems and these strategies. Be critical, and remember that in a short run it is all about luck.
Hence the second casino tip – understand every single game you want to play. Learn about the betting, bonus rounds, side bets etc., otherwise you are just going to lose if you don’t know what you’re doing.
Be critical about online casino reviews – it’s important to check the reputation of the casino you want to play in, but there are lot of sites, that will promote casinos and say only the good things. On the other hand, real player reviews doesn’t always mean real reviews, these can be efforts from competitors to slander their rivals. What to do then? Look for reviews in reputable sites and compare 2 or 3 of them, then you will probably get the average opinion about the casino.
If you are a fan of video slots, learn about RTP percentages and volatility. Once again, in a short run, it is all about luck, but if you want to make a thoughtful decision, it is best to know how these games work and what can you expect in a long run.
Make sure you learn about available banking methods before you start to play at the casino. It’s simple – if you manage to land some wins, you will probably want to withdraw them. Not all online casinos offer the same deposit and withdrawal options.
Read online casino bonus terms before you take up an offer. Learn about wagering requirements, qualifying games and bets. Furthermore, there are offers that are limited in time, for example, you have to fulfil wagering requirements in a month to be able to withdraw your winnings from the bonus.
Don’t choose a gambling site only depending on the bonus. Be sure it provides the games you enjoy, variety of payment options and easy to get-in-touch-with customer support.
And last but not least – always remember that gambling is a form of entertainment. So take your time and enjoy the game.
Bonuses
Casino bonuses are a form of casino promotions to attract new clients or strengthen the attraction from the existing ones. Usually the most generous bonuses are casino welcome bonuses, which are granted upon registration or first deposit. The reason is simple – casinos want to appeal to new clients by offering extra generous reward.
Most common types of casino bonuses:
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Match bonus means an extra money that is awarded within a deposit. Usually they are expressed as a percentage. For example, if a casino gives 100% match bonus and you deposit 50€, the casino will give you 100% of your deposit, and in total you will be able to play with 100€. If it’s a 400% match bonus, by depositing 50€ you will end up with the total of 250€ casino money (50€ deposit + 200€ bonus money).
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Free spins bonus refers to slot games. Similarly like the free spins you can won in video slot games, free spins from casino will also give you the chance to spin the reels without placing your own money as bet. Usually, there is a maximum bet stated or a specific bet per line. Moreover, free spins are usually granted in a specific game. The most popular games are Starburst (NetEnt) and the Book of Dead (Play’n GO).
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Free bets – besides free spins in slot games, casinos also give their players free bets in other games, like table games, poker or sports events.
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Cashback bonuses are mostly given to loyal clients that have reached a certain membership level. This bonus gives back a predetermined percentage of the losses made by the client in a certain period of time, for example a day or weekend.
The most important tip that anyone could give you regarding the entertainment in online casinos, is to be aware of what kind of bonus you are taking up and what are the wagering requirements. For casinos the bonuses is well spent money if you become acquainted with the casino and decide to continue play there after the bonus money ends.
In order to make sure you actually spend some time at the casino and give it a chance, majority of casinos wrap their bonuses in wagering requirements. Usually, these are somewhere between 30x to 45x, but they can be even higher. Make sure you understand how much money you will have to wager at the end to be able to withdraw the winnings from the bonus.
Another thing to take into account – bonuses can be sticky, which means you can play with the bonus money and collect your winnings, but after the bonus is wagered, the amount of it will be removed from the winnings.
One thing an online casino newbie has to understand is that the house always has an advantage. This is not a secret, quite the opposite – casinos are transparent about the payout percentages of their games.
It’s quite obvious that online casinos are businesses with certain expanses (maintaining the platform, paying their employees etc.) So they have to have some level or certainty about their revenue.
This is called the house edge, and basically it means casino advantage. Most common stereotypes towards casinos is that casino advantage affects every bet, but actually this is not true. All casino games have built in house edge, and it tells how much a specific game will pay out over its lifespan, not in that specific bet.
Also, understanding the house edge can benefit players – they can make the best decision and choose a game that offers the best returns.
Basically, house edge is not set by casinos themselves, each game – slots or table games – have a specific range of how much the game will pay out. For example, house edge in modern video slots will come to aprox. 3%-7%, but for American Roulette it will always be 5.26%.
| House edge of the most popular casino games | |
| Blackjack | 0.5% |
| American Roulette | 5.26% |
| European Roulette | 2.7% |
| Video Poker | 0.46% - 5% |
| Baccarat | 1% - 15% |
| Craps | 0% - 16% |
| Hold’em | 2.36% |
| Carribean stud | 5.22% |
From the first glance, you probably think, why doesn’t everyone stick to Blackjack and European Roulette. House edge determines the casino advantage in a long run, remember that in each specific game session, it is all about luck. Moreover, there are plenty of reasons that affects the choice of a specific game to each player.
For example, the level of entertainment, how much effort you have to put in to master the game etc. There are online slots like Goblin’s cave and Ugga Bugga from Playtech (online casino software provider), with a house edge less than 1%, but these games are nowhere to be the most popular casino slots. If we continue with the Playtech example, few of their most popular slots are Big Bad Wolf and Age of the Gods, which Return to Player (RTP) percentages are from 95.02% to 97.34%, meaning that the house is from 2.66% to 4.08%. And these games are popular because of their graphics, sounds and bonus features.
